The Story of Pikachu
by nld200xy
Summary: Pikachu and Horsea have spent their lives misjudged by humans. However, things change when a human shows the mouse kindness and reveals to him a side of life that he would have never considered before. But will Horsea see things this way as well? Will the two ever gain the respect of Tokyo's citizens?


Disclaimer: I do not own the Pokemon franchise or the creatures associated with it. Also, this is basically a spin-off/side story of a 4-part series I made quite some time ago called Earth's Protectors. If you'd like to check that out as well, feel free to do so, though each one is very long, so best be prepared for a lot of reading. Since the series is heavily inspired by Kinnikuman, some Pokemon designs have been altered to fit with that kind of reality. In the case of this story, it's only one specific design.

For many generations, villainous creatures had threatened mankind. But for every major threat that reared its head, there were heroes with the power to defeat them. From the mighty Machop to the majestic Gardevoir, these warriors stood up to these foes and saved mankind time and time again.

However, our tale today is set in a time when man had not yet accepted these beings and merely saw them all as monsters. It was a time when all these creatures could do was stay hidden and do whatever they could to stay alive.

The year was eighteen-fifty. It was a fine day in a nice town called Tokyo when what appeared to be a young boy dressed in a cloak walked through the local marketplace. All that could be seen under his cloak were two red circles.

As he approached a stand, he looked over an assortment of fruit. The owner smiled and asked, "Good morning, kid. What would you like today?"

The boy tried to avoid eye contact as he uttered, "I'm just browsing for now," the owner shrugging before looking up toward the various citizens and calling out, "Would anyone like some peaches? Perhaps some nice mikan or nashi pears."

While the man was distracted, the boy quickly grabbed a few mikan and stuffed them down the front of his cloak. Before the owner could notice, he quickly turned and started to walk slowly away from the area. He breathed a sigh of relief when he suddenly lost his grip on one of the oranges and it tumbled out from under the clothing.

The area went silent while many passersby stopped to stare at this. The owner of the stand gazed down at the mikan display and counted them before uttering, "Wait a minute, I had thirty-eight before," many gasping and turning toward the boy in the cloak.

He gulped nervously and started to twitch uncontrollably. After a few seconds, he fumbled all of the mikan and dropped them to the ground. Seeing this, the owner of the stand pointed and snapped, "THIEF!"

At that moment, four nearby samurai, specifically the Edo police, overheard this. As such, they brandished their swords and sprinted toward the boy. As such, he let out a sigh and scooped up as many mikan as he could, specifically six. Afterwards, he fled for his life, grunting, "Shit," repeatedly under his breath.

One samurai turned toward another and nodded his head. As such, his partners dashed into a nearby alley while another did the same on the opposite side. Unfortunately for the boy, since he continued to look straight ahead, he was not aware of this.

While he continued to run, he turned back noticed the two samurai start to catch up. As such, he gritted his teeth and thought, 'No, it's not worth the risk.'

His eyes darted back and forth when suddenly, he noticed an alleyway he could duck through. But just as he was about to sprint in that direction, the first samurai to leave the group emerged and exclaimed, "GOTCHA!"

The boy let out a cry of terror and tried to turn around only for the man to grab the back of his hood. Soon, the other emerged and pointed his katana at the boy's throat, saying, "Don't move a muscle, kid. Just hand over the mikan."

The boy took a deep breath and thought, 'Well, I'm in trouble either way. Guess I have no choice.'

As such, he allowed his body to descend, slipping out of the robe as everyone in the area stared in shock. As it so happened, this figure who had stolen fruit was not a human boy at all. He was a short yellow mouse with long pointed ears that had black tips. His eyes were also completely black, hence why they did not appear under his hood. He had two brown stripes on his back and a tail shaped like a lightning bolt. Finally, the red circles that were seen under his hood were actually dots on his cheeks. His name was Pikachu.

"My god," one of the samurai uttered, his hands trembling, "It's that demon, the one who entered our borders two months ago!"

"What are you doing!?" another one snapped, "We've finally got him right where we want him!"

As such, all four prepared their blades only for Pikachu to grit his teeth, going down until one hand was touching the ground. He used the other to cradle his stolen fruit and growled, "ELECTRO BARRIER!"

The samurai stared in shock when sparks emerged from the dots on his cheeks. However, they were even more surprised when electricity surrounded the mouse's body and created a small explosion, covering him in smoke. And with the police distracted, he immediately dashed toward the alleyway he had headed to before.

The samurai stared in stunned silence before one of them threw his blade onto the ground and cursed, "Dammit! We almost had him!" before falling to his knees and picking his blade back up only for one of his partners to stare wide-eyed and pat him on the shoulder, uttering, "Hey, it's okay. We'll get him next time."

Ten minutes passed before Pikachu arrived at a small abandoned shack located in the slums. He took a deep breath and looked at the mikan he had stolen, his eyes wide with terror. The peels were now covered in black marks as he slowly peeled one open to see that it had started to shrivel up.

'Dammit,' he thought, 'I must have burned them when I used my Electro Barrier. I hope Horsea's okay with this.'

With that in mind, he leapt up onto a windowsill five feet off the ground. Luckily, the window was stuck open but had a curtain in front of it. He simply pushed the material to the side and stepped onto the floor, saying, "Hey, I'm home."

Needless to say, the interior of the shack was just as run-down as one would expect. There was dust and cobwebs all over the place along with minimal furniture that was practically broken. But for as dirty as it was, it was home.

"Good, you're back," came a slightly deeper voice from the only other room in the shack, "Not gonna lie, I've worked up quite the appetite. Did you get those mikan oranges like I asked?"

"Sure did," Pikachu replied when a blue seahorse with a single dorsal fin entered the area with a light smile on his hose-like mouth.

Along with the fin were big red eyes. He had surprisingly thick arms and legs and three spike-like projections on the sides of his head. This was the mouse's one and only friend, Horsea.

When the mouse spread out the mikan on the table, Horsea's eyes sparkled as he exclaimed, "Oh, you are simply-" only to stare at the burn marks on the skins and sigh, "Don't tell me you were almost caught, Pikachu."

"Yeah, but hey, I escaped, didn't I?" the mouse, Pikachu remarked only for Horsea to shake his head and retort, "Yeah, but you need to be more careful. What if they followed you here?"

Pikachu's eyes widened for a few seconds before Horsea slapped his forehead and grumbled, "You didn't even think about that once, did you?" the mouse laughing nervously.

The seahorse simply rolled his eyes and thus the two peeled the mikan and ate it. Thanks to Pikachu's electricity, it was not as enjoyable as it could have been, but they knew this was the best they could do today. All they could do was hope for better results tomorrow.

"You know, Horsea," Pikachu suggested once they were finished eating, "You seem to be more knowledgeable about this sort of thing. Why don't you gather food tomorrow?" the seahorse's eyes shooting wide open before he snapped, "Don't even joke about that! You know what people do to sea creatures!"

Pikachu tapped his chin and remembered seeing a seafood stand in the marketplace. As such, he nodded and said, "Point taken."

After a few seconds, Horsea frowned and looked toward the window. He then inflated his cheeks before sending a small burst of water through it, barking, "Stupid humans! They're the reason we have to live in this dump! And I'm willing to bet we probably won't last long here, anyway! Seriously, this is, what, home number six!?"

"Seven, actually," Pikachu replied before the seahorse narrowed his eyelids and growled, "Exactly! We've gone from place to place, doing our absolute best to survive for three goddamn years! It's bad enough they couldn't even try to save our parents!"

Pikachu's eyes widened. He remembered it like it was yesterday, the day he lost his mother. He was only twelve years old when she caught a deadly disease. The mouse used old family recipes for medicine in the hopes that he could cure her, but in the end, he could not. He knew this was a job for a doctor, but he also knew better than to ask a human for help.

Of course, Horsea had it even worse. He envied Pikachu for the fact that he had been given the chance to wish his mother goodbye. The seahorse's mother met a far worse fate, one he refused to talk about.

After a few seconds, Pikachu figured he should at least try to lighten the mood. As such, he headed toward a bookshelf. Although the shelf itself was fairly big, there were only three books. He picked one and asked, "Want me to read you Momotaro again?"

Horsea folded his arms and grunted, "No. I'm sick of that story. God, seriously, a human working alongside animals for the greater good! Yeah right!"

Pikachu was about to retort, but even he could see where the seahorse was coming from. As such, he tapped his chin and smiled wide. With that in mind, he walked toward an old drawer and opened it up. He picked up a small red ball and tossed it into the air. He then walked under it as it landed on his head, his ears perked up while he kept it perfectly balanced while shifting his head back and forth.

Horsea blinked before smiling lightly. Soon enough, Pikachu bobbed the ball into the air and flipped over. He then performed a handstand with only one hand and balanced the ball on his tail, the seahorse clapping all the while.

Pikachu kept up the routine for a while before flinging the ball into the air and leaping up toward it. He then spun his body around and swung his tail hard into the object, sending it flying toward the wall above the open drawer. Once it made contact, it bounced off and landed perfectly into the drawer, Pikachu taking a bow while Horsea gave him a standing ovation.

"Even after all this time, that never gets old!" Horsea exclaimed with a glee, "You know, you're the one thing that makes life worth living."

"Oh, please," Pikachu replied with a light chuckle, "You make my life worth living."

Both shared a good laugh before taking a deep breath. Needless to say, they had certainly needed something to lighten their mood. And while today had not been too successful, they were certain tomorrow would be much better.

Though it seemed they might not need to wait that long when Pikachu smirked and said, "You know, I bet if I go out there again, I can get us a real feast. What say I get us a loaf of bread?" Horsea's eyes wide with shock as he retorted, "Are you for real!?"

He slowly approached his friend and placed a firm grip on his shoulder. He then gazed seriously into his eyes and grunted, "Pikachu, I would love for nothing more than the taste of freshly baked bread, but you were almost caught today! I don't know what I'd do if I really did lose you! Look, the mikan was fine! We only got about three each, but that's okay!"

The seahorse's stomach growled as he let down nervous sweat and added, "Look at that! I'm so full that my stomach is telling me not to eat anymore!"

Pikachu shook his head and stated, "Look, it's fine. Thanks for the concern, but I can't just leave it at a few measly bits of fruit. Tonight, we're eating in style. I'll be sure of it."

Horsea could see the determination in the mouse's eyes. As such, he took a deep breath and replied, "You really are the best friend a seahorse could have. Just be careful, alright?"

Pikachu nodded and shook Horsea's hand firmly. He then walked toward the closet and opened it up, dust flying out when he noticed two more cloaks hanging up. Hopefully he would not lose these ones.

Once in full disguise, the mouse leapt out the window and dashed back toward the marketplace. Once there, he hid in a nearby alley, took a deep breath and thought, 'Alright, I'm gonna do this right. I can't afford to screw up. If I get caught, Horsea will be miserable for the rest of his life!'

He darted his eyes around before spying a stand where a woman was selling bread. It seemed she only had five loaves left, though that number dropped to three when a thirteen-year-old girl approached the stand and bought two. With that in mind, Pikachu would need to act fast, though he would need to be much more stealthy so the Edo police would not spot him again.

The mouse stepped out into the open, but rather than approaching the stand, he pretended not to notice it while looking at various others. He soon passed by it, making it look unintentional before quickly reaching his hand out and grasping a loaf of bread when the woman turned her gaze away from him. But just as he was about to pull it in, he let out a gasp when he felt a firm grip against his wrist.

Sure enough, the hand grabbing him was that of the woman running the stand. Pikachu had sworn not to get caught this time and yet he had not lasted nearly as long as he had earlier. Was this truly it?

The woman was just about to scold him when she looked at his small hand covered in yellow fur with pointy fingers. Her eyes widened and she gasped, "DEMON!" the mouse immediately fleeing for his life when one of the samurai from earlier looked his way.

He frowned and reached for his blade, growling, "Oh no, you're not getting away this time!" dashing toward the mouse and adding, "Once I have your head, they'll promote me for sure!"

Pikachu frowned and went down on all fours, outrunning the samurai. Since he did not have his partners with him this time, he figured escape would be much easier. Unfortunately, the samurai had a plan this time as he frowned and grunted, "Not this time."

With that, the man leapt up toward a pole on the side of a building and flipped onto the roof. He then leapt from one to another before finally spotting a cloaked figure dashing through an alleyway. But just as he was ready for a sneak attack, his eyes widened when the cloaked figure was stopped dead in his tracks by a girl with long black hair and blue eyes. She wore a red dress and had a handbag slung over her shoulder.

Pikachu blinked and stared at the girl silently. But before he could say anything, the samurai remembered his mission and leapt from the roof, landing right behind the mouse and pointing his katana at him. He then smiled and said, "Thank you, kind citizen. You have just helped me reprimand a wanted criminal."

Pikachu's mouth hung open with terror. But once he was ready to fight for his life, the girl faced the samurai, tilted her head to the side and asked, "Wanted criminal? I believe you're mistaken. This is just my dumb little brother. He was with me at the marketplace earlier, but he ran off on his own, so I've been looking for him. See, he tends to wander a lot."

"So you're telling me your brother wandered all the way from the marketplace to this very spot," the samurai uttered, a look of confusion on his face before the girl nodded and replied, "Yes," Pikachu unsure of what to say right now. Was this girl helping him or was she the one who was mistaken?

Either way, the samurai did not seem to believe her, thus he enquired, "Tell me, if this is your brother, why is he dressed in a cloak?" the girl replying, "We prefer not to talk about this, but, well, he has a skin condition. The sun's rays are harmful to him, so he wears a cloak to cover himself up."

The samurai stared silently for a few seconds. He then took a deep breath and asked, "And why, pray tell, was he running on all fours?" the girl replying, "He likes to pretend he's a bobtail. Right?" smiling at the cloaked mouse as he blinked and nodded his head, letting out a painfully forced meow.

The samurai took a deep breath and sighed, "And here I thought I really had him," before handing the girl a scroll with a portrait of Pikachu, adding, "Well, if you see this demon, be sure to let us know. He may look cute and cuddly, but he's a dangerous criminal."

Sure enough, the portrait was exaggerated. While the features were accurate enough, his fur in the picture was a lot messier, his fingers were longer and sharper and his teeth looked more like razor sharp fangs.

The girl took a glance at the scroll and faked a gasp, saying, "I'll be sure to scream as loud as I can," the samurai replying, "Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some police work to do."

With that, the man sheathed his katana and exited the alley. Since he figured Pikachu had escaped, he simply resumed patrol, praying he would have another chance to kill the mouse.

Pikachu continued to stand there and let out fake meows when the girl giggled and said, "It's okay. He's gone now. You don't have to pretend anymore."

Pikachu stared in shock before pointing at the girl and barking, "YOU KNEW WHO I WAS ALL ALONG!?"

The girl nodded and giggled once more before the mouse snapped, "What's your angle!? You know what I am! What do you hope to gain from helping me!?"

"Nothing," the girl replied with a sweet smile, "I saw you were in trouble and figured I'd help. That's all there is to it."

Pikachu eyed the girl and noticed that she looked strangely familiar. His eyes then widened, a light gasp escaping his mouth before he spat, "Wait a minute, you bought two loaves of bread at the marketplace! How in the hell did you get here so fast!?"

"Well, you're not the only one in Tokyo who can run quickly," the girl replied with a sweet smile, "Plus I know a lot of shortcuts. After all, I've lived here all my life."

Pikachu could not believe what was happening. This girl knew full well who and what he was and yet she talked to him as if he was a close friend. Was she even human? How did he know this was not a trick?

"By the way," the girl stated, reaching into her handbag, "I noticed you were trying to steal some bread earlier. I assume you can't afford to eat, so here."

Pikachu stared in stunned silence when she pulled out one of the loaves of bread she had bought earlier. He was even more shocked when she held it right in front of his face and said, "Go on, you can have it. You clearly need it more than I do."

The mouse was about to retort when he saw the purity in the girl's eyes. There was no doubt about it. She was completely sincere. However, what surprised him even more was what he did next.

"No," he uttered with slight hesitation, "You paid good money for that, and I assume that wasn't even your money. It would be wrong for me to take it from you."

The girl shook her head and stated, "I insist," Pikachu biting his lower lip while she added, "I won't leave you alone until you do so. I'll just tell my parents that I gave one of our loaves to a homeless person. It's not too far from the truth, right?"

Pikachu still could not believe any of this. But as much as it pained him to admit it, she was right. He was in no position to refuse any of this. As such, he slowly reached his hands out and took the loaf, giving the girl a strange look.

"So, do you just give food to homeless people all the time?" he enquired as the girl giggled and replied, "Well, no, but Mom and Dad have always taught me to put the less fortunate over myself."

Pikachu nodded with a light smile on his face and said, "Thank you. The name's Pikachu," wrapping his arm around the bread while holding out his free hand. As such, the girl shook it and stated, "I'm Aimi."

Shaking the human's hand, Pikachu felt strangely at ease. He had never imagined such a thing happening, and yet it felt so right. And once they were done, he turned around and exited the alleyway, not saying another word. After all, it was still difficult for him to process all of this.

Horsea was currently rocking back and forth on a rocking chair. While he twiddled his thumbs, his eyes widened when he felt the placement runners start to crack. And sure enough, just as he leaned as far back as he could, the material burst open thus the chair fell backwards, the back of the seahorse's head hitting the floor hard.

He let out a sigh and groaned, "It's only a matter of time until everything else here breaks. I bet even the futons will collapse somehow. Then what? Even if we don't get caught, we'll probably have to leave this town anyway."

He stopped ranting to himself when he heard Pikachu call out, "Hey, Horsea, I'm back!" from the other room.

Horsea's eyes widened as he smiled lightly. He then pushed himself up and made his way into the room. And as soon as he gazed upon the bread Pikachu had brought with him, a fairly big droplet hung from his mouth.

Soon enough, both were seated at the table. Pikachu used his tail to slash the bread in half, practically ripping his half to shreds with his teeth while a big grin formed on his face. It had been a long time since the duo had eaten this well, so it only made sense they would eat quickly.

After taking a bite of his own half, Horsea let out a light breath and said, "I seriously can't believe this. You actually managed to steal an entire loaf of bread! Even with a robe, I didn't think you could hide something this big!"

"Actually, you'll be happy to know I acquired this bread legally," Pikachu replied with a smirk, Horsea staring silently. Pikachu noticed his blank expression and uttered, "What I mean is I didn't actually steal that."

Horsea looked at the bread and spat out his last bite, grunting, "Oh, gross! Don't tell me you picked it up off the ground or found it in a dumpster!"

"Nope, it came from a stand," Pikachu replied with a smirk before Horsea breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "So, what, did you find money lying on the ground? That's still technically stealing, but it is easier to get away with."

"Actually, you'll never believe it," the mouse explained, "but someone gave it to me for free."

Horsea once again gave his friend a blank stare. He blinked twice and asked, "I don't think I heard that right. Did you just say someone gave you the bread?"

Pikachu nodded and replied, "Yeah, it was hard for me to believe too, but she was really nice about it," Horsea remarking, "She? So there are females like us living here. Interesting," the seahorse stroking his chin with a wishful look in his eyes.

"Well, if there are, I haven't met any," Pikachu sighed, "The one who gave me the bread was human."

For the third time, Horsea gave the mouse a blank look. There was no way he heard that correctly. But when he saw the sincerity on Pikachu's face, he could see that he had not told a lie.

"Oh, wait, I get it now," Horsea said with a light smile, "You threatened her, didn't you? You saw someone who couldn't possibly stand up to you, noticed there were no police officers present and whipped out the lightning bolts. I'm kind of surprised neither of us thought to do that before."

"No, I didn't," Pikachu protested, "She just gave it to me out of the goodness of her heart. I looked into her eyes and there was no malicious intent. Aimi's just a really nice human girl."

Now Horsea no longer cared about his remaining half of bread. He could no longer make sense of any of this.

"A nice human," the seahorse uttered, "A nice human!? You seriously expect me to believe that a human can be nice!?"

Pikachu nodded right before the seahorse rose from his seat and looked out the window. He squinted his eyes and grunted, "No authorities," before staring at Pikachu and letting out a sigh.

"You got lucky," he stated before returning to the table, "You got really, super lucky, but I can guarantee that won't happen again."

"What are you-?" Pikachu remarked only for the seahorse to continue, "She treated you all nice today to get you to trust her. I can guarantee that tomorrow, she'll offer you something else, only this time, she'll ask to join you on your trip home or something like that. Then once she sees where you live, she'll tell the Edo police and they'll come after us because you were naive enough to let it happen!"

Pikachu stared at Horsea for a few seconds before asking, "Do you really think she would-?"

"I know she would do that," the seahorse retorted with a serious look in his eyes, "If you see her again and she offers you food, reject it. Don't let your guard down. You've seen the wanted posters. There's a high reward for your capture, and if they knew I was here, they'd probably put a price on my head too. Is that what you want?"

The mouse shook his head and grunted, "No, that's not what I want at all," Horsea breathing a sigh of relief and saying, "Good. Let's finish up our dinner, shall we?"

The seahorse walked back toward the table while Pikachu bit his lower lip with a look of uncertainty in his eyes. What if his friend was right? Could Aimi really be trusted?

During this time, Aimi was at home enjoying soup with the loaf of bread she had kept. Just like she promised, she had not breathed a word to her parents about the yellow mouse she had fed. To the best of their knowledge, she had helped a homeless person live another day, and both were naturally happy to hear that.

"That's my girl," said a middle-aged man with short black hair and a muscular build. This was her father, Akihiro, "In times like these, we need more people like you in the world."

Aimi giggled when the man ruffled her hair, her mother saying, "He's right. That was a very good thing you did."

Aimi's mother was a beautiful woman who even at the age of thirty-five appeared to be in her early twenties. She had delicate blue hair and green eyes and was named Chie.

"So, did you kick major butt today?" Aimi asked Akihiro as he nodded and replied, "Naturally," flexing his muscles, "I tell you, today's wrestlers are a joke. I miss the real challenges I used to get back in my day."

"It's not because today's fighters can't measure up to your skill anymore," Chie replied, rubbing the man's shoulders, "It's because you're just too good now."

The woman then kissed him on the cheek when he laughed and replied, "Maybe I should stop working out for a week. It might give the competition more of a chance."

Aimi giggled and embraced Akihiro's arm. As it so happened, he was a professional wrestler and currently Tokyo's champion. While Aimi herself was not the biggest fan of fighting, she would always support him no matter what.

"By the way," Akihiro stated, "Dai challenged me to a rematch tomorrow. He's still sore about me, well, taking his title," before Chie sighed, "Are you serious? I've lost count of how many times he's done this."

"Yeah," Akihiro sighed with his arms folded behind his head, "Still, I figured I may as well humour him and accept the challenge anyway. May as well let him believe he has a chance. I'm sure he'll figure out how pointless it is one of these days."

Aimi nodded before asking, "Hey, Dad, you know that demon that moved to Tokyo two months ago?" Akihiro nodding and sighing, "Yeah. Apparently, he was almost caught this morning. I really wish the Edo police could have dealt with him. It's scary to think something like that roams the streets."

"But what if he's not that bad, though?" Aimi enquired, her parents both staring at her, "I mean, think about it. He can't make money because no one will let him work for it, and because of that, he has to steal food to live."

Chie gave her daughter a look of uncertainty. There was a part of her that understood where she was coming from, but at the same time, that almost sounded too optimistic. Akihiro, on the other hand, simply nodded and replied, "I'm glad you brought that up. The fact that you can think that is very good, but at the same time, demons are not like people. They're monsters incapable of human thought. Besides, I heard he almost killed the officers who pursued him."

Aimi gasped, "Oh my!" before Akihiro nodded and added, "Good, you understand. With that demon roaming around, I worry about you when you go out. I hope you never run into him. I couldn't bare the thought of him taking you from us."

While the family continued to eat dinner, Aimi decided to drop the conversation. Deep down, she knew that everyone else was wrong about Pikachu. She could tell that he was not the dangerous creature they said he was. But even so, she also knew it might be too soon to try and explain this. Perhaps there would come a time when the people would listen, but now was not that time.

When night rolled around, Pikachu was lying in a futon next to Horsea. The seahorse had already gone to sleep while the mouse looked at the ceiling and thought about what he had been told earlier. Would Aimi really stab him in the back like that?

He shook his head and thought, 'No, you're wrong about her, Horsea. She's a good person. One of these days, I'll bring her over and prove you wrong. Then we'll have a third member in our circle of friends, I just know it.'

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He really hoped he would run into Aimi tomorrow. Even if she had no food for him, he simply wanted to see her.

The following morning, Pikachu was back at the marketplace with his cloak on. Today, he would not be quite as ambitious and he would be much more careful. After all, until yesterday, he had managed to avoid being seen for a long time, so there was no way that would happen for the third time in a row.

But just as he was about to step out, he tensed up when he felt something tap against his back. But once he turned, he was surprised to see Aimi standing right there. She gave him a cute grin and held up a basket of fruit she had just purchased at the marketplace before saying, "I had a feeling you'd be here at this time."

Pikachu was not completely sure why, but he followed her a small distance from the marketplace without question. After two minutes of walking, the two rested against a wall, the mouse flipping his hood back before Aimi offered him a peach. He happily accepted it and took a bite, saying, "It's funny, I usually wait until I get home to eat. It's not so much so the Edo police doesn't interrupt my meal but-"

He immediately stopped himself when he imagined Horsea scolding him for revealing his existence. After all, while Tokyo knew all about Pikachu, they had never seen the seahorse before. It was already bad enough that the mouse's life was in danger each day. The last thing he needed was to drag his best friend into it.

Aimi could tell he was hiding something but decided not to question his silence, thus she asked, "So, how is it?" Pikachu replying, "It's very good."

He then took a deep breath and enquired, "So why are you so nice to me? You know everyone else fears me, right?" before Aimi nodded and replied, "Yeah. Everyone thinks you're a demon, but when I look at you, I don't see a demon at all. I see a person who looks different from everyone else."

Pikachu's eyes were wide with shock. There was no doubt in his mind now. Aimi really was as nice as he thought she was. But as much as he wanted to show her where he lived, he felt like it was too soon for such a thing.

"By the way," Aimi stated, "I just realized your name means electric mouse."

"It does?" Pikachu enquired before the girl nodded and added, "I understand the mouse part, but where does the electric part come from? Is it your personality?"

Pikachu had no idea what she meant by that, though he did have an answer, thus he explained, "I think I know why. It's because of a power that's been passed down through my family for generations. Check this out."

Aimi watched closely while sparks flew out of the dots on Pikachu's cheeks. The girl stared for a few seconds before smiling wide and squealing, "Wow! That is so neat! So you're like a cloud that walks on land!"

Pikachu blinked and tapped his chin. He then imagined himself in the form of a cloud releasing lightning bolts all across the land. With that in mind, he laughed, "I guess I am! Maybe I could even create rain!"

Both he and Aimi shared a good laugh before taking a simultaneous breath. The mouse then turned to face the girl and sighed, "I'm glad I met you. Honestly, I don't know why you associate yourself with the other humans. You seem far too nice to be involved with them."

Aimi shook her head and stated, "Not all humans are bad. The reason most of them pursue you is because, well, you're unlike anything they've seen before. People get scared of things they don't understand. If they knew why you steal food, they'd probably realize you're not that much different from them and accept you."

"That's a very big if," the mouse remarked with a sour look on his face, "I'll never be able to connect with the others like I connect with you. In fact, they're the reason our parents died when we were twelve."

Aimi gave the mouse a sad look for a few seconds. However, that came to an end when she blinked and uttered, "Wait, what do you mean 'our parents'?"

Pikachu's eyes widened with terror. Had he really just let that slip? But when he turned toward Aimi, he realized he now had no choice but to let her know that he was not alone.

"Alright, you deserve to know," the mouse said with a sigh, "See, I'm currently living with my best friend in the world. His name is Horsea."

Aimi giggled slightly at the name as Pikachu gave her an odd look. She stopped herself and signalled him to keep going, thus he added, "We kind of grew up together. See, our parents were really good friends, and with him being the only one like me for miles around, he was the only one I could talk to and play with. Unfortunately, three years ago, our parents died. We've been looking for a place to live ever since, but, well, we don't usually last long."

Aimi blinked as the mouse continued, "Someone always finds out where we're living, so we have no choice but to run and find a new place to stay. It isn't easy, but we've managed to last this long on our own, so we must be doing something right."

"That's terrible," Aimi grumbled with a look of anger in her eyes, "No one should live such a miserable existence."

Pikachu nodded with a light smile. He was so glad he could tell someone this without fear. He was so confident that he could trust Aimi that he then suggested the most rash thing he could have at this moment.

"Hey, if I don't return home soon, Horsea's gonna think something bad happened to me," the mouse stated, "What say we bring him this basket of fruit together? Then you two can meet!"

Aimi's eyes widened as she gasped, "Are you sure about that?" Pikachu nodding and replying, "Yeah. Horsea doesn't believe humans can be good, but I'm sure if he talked to you, he'd see that not everyone is judgemental."

While it still took a little while to process, Aimi could not have been happier. As if being on good terms with Pikachu was not enough, now there was a possibility that she would make another friend. And of course, she immediately headed off with Pikachu after he covered his head with his hood.

The duo walked for fifteen minutes before arriving in the slums. Deep down, Aimi had a feeling this was the only place Pikachu and Horsea could live, but it was still depressing to think this had been their home for two months. And she could only imagine their past quarters were no better than this.

Soon enough, the mouse and the girl arrived at the shack, leaping up toward the windowsill. He then lowered his tail so Aimi could jump up and grab it with one hand, holding the basket with the other. And soon enough, both had entered before Pikachu called, "Hey, Horsea, I'm home and I got fruit!"

"Oh, thank god!" came Horsea's voice from the other room, "I was starting to worry! Seriously, you've never-"

He cut himself off, though, when he entered the room and saw Aimi standing right there. He then looked at Pikachu with a look of anger, the girl smiling sweetly and saying, "Oh, so you're a seahorse. Wow, here I thought maybe you were all mice."

"Horsea, it's okay," Pikachu protested, "This is-" only for the seahorse's cheeks to inflate. He then released a burst of water, shouting, "SEA DRAGON HOSE!" Aimi gasping as she ducked just in time to avoid the incoming blast.

Before Horsea could unleash more water, Pikachu leapt in front of Aimi with his arms out, shouting, "She's okay, Horsea! She's not like the other humans!" only for the seahorse to stare silently.

After a few seconds, he narrowed his eyelids and growled, "This is the girl you were talking about, isn't she? The one who gave you bread yesterday? The one I explicitly told you was going to take advantage of you so you could lead her right here!?"

"But I didn't-" Aimi protested only for the seahorse to race toward the window and push the curtain to the side, growling, "Where are they!? Where are the police officers you led here!?"

"But Aimi didn't bring any-" Pikachu uttered only for Horsea to grab the girl by the collar and grunt, "That's what she wants you to think! You know how the Edo police work! They're quick and stealthy! They could be hiding anywhere right now! But it's gonna be alright, because thanks to you, I now have a hostage so they won't dare raise their swords to me!"

Pikachu frowned and marched over to Horsea, smacking him hard across the face, causing him to drop Aimi and barking, "CALM THE HELL DOWN! AIMI'S NOT LIKE THE OTHER HUMANS! THERE ARE NO OFFICERS!"

Aimi trembled in fear as Horsea fumed and snapped, "How could you possibly stick up for these selfish monsters after what they put us through!? It's because of them you couldn't cure your mother of her illness and it's because of them that my mom died when gathering food for me!"

Aimi's eyes and mouth were wide with shock. She knew her people were judgemental, but she never imagined they would be that cruel. If anything, it was a miracle that Pikachu was able to trust her after what he had gone through.

Horsea saw the look in her eyes and growled, "Don't pretend you actually care. You will never understand the pain and suffering we've dealt with, you privileged little shit!"

Pikachu bit his lower lip, wanting so badly to scold Horsea for that statement. But before he could do so, the seahorse sighed, "Alright, Pikachu, since you're hellbent on her living, I won't kill her. But we're leaving. I don't wanna be here when the authorities show up."

"But Horsea, Aimi's telling the truth!" Pikachu retorted, "We didn't lead anyone here! I asked her to come so you could meet her and be friends with her! This was not her idea! She was even uncertain about it!"

"Pikachu, oh, Pikachu," Horsea sighed while shaking his head, "Such a good friend, but so gullible. If you value our friendship, you'll follow me out of Tokyo so we can find a new place to live."

Pikachu narrowed his eyelids as the seahorse sighed, "Suit yourself. Maybe I'm better off alone, anyway."

Thus he leapt out the window and sprinted off into the distance while tears welled up in Aimi's eyes. This had been a complete disaster. If she had refused Pikachu's offer and not come, none of this would have happened.

Pikachu turned toward her and gasped. He then approached her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder, coaxing, "It's okay, Aimi. This isn't your fault. It's mine for thinking Horsea could actually trust a human."

He then took a deep breath as Aimi nodded and whimpered, "You should go. Horsea needs a friend like you. Just tell him you're no longer friends with me. It's for the best."

As much as it pained Pikachu to admit it, Aimi was right. He and Horsea had been together for fifteen years. There was no way the mouse could allow a friendship that strong to end just like that. And so, with that in mind, he sighed, "Act like you're chasing after me. We can stage an argument. Then he'll have to believe that we're not friends anymore."

The girl nodded with a light smile. Thus the duo leapt out the window and ran in the direction Horsea had taken off in.

They ran for a few minutes before noticing the four samurai from the previous day. What shocked them the most, though, was that three of them were unconscious and one was just barely awake. As such, Aimi ran toward him and gasped, "What happened?"

"This weird seahorse entered the area," the samurai grunted, "We figured he must be associated with the demon mouse, so we tried to fight him. Unfortunately, he was much too powerful for us."

Pikachu's eyes widened as he ran over and snapped, "WHERE DID HE GO!?"

The samurai's eyes widened when he spat, "IT'S YOU!" trying to pick up his katana. Unfortunately for him, he was in far too much pain and thus was unable to grip the handle.

"Please, sir, tell us where he went," Aimi pleaded with concern in her eyes, the man taking a deep breath and groaning, "He saw an advertizement for the big title match between Akihiro and Dai. I heard him say something about heading to the arena. He didn't specify why, though."

Aimi gasped, "Oh no!" Pikachu uttering, "What?" as the girl whimpered, "Akihiro's my father! He's the best fighter in all of Tokyo! He might end up hurting your friend!"

"Oh my god," the mouse uttered before sporting a serious look, "We'd better hurry."

With that, he went down on all fours and said, "Hop on my back. We can get there much quicker this way," Aimi uttering, "Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Trust me," Pikachu replied with a grin, "Whenever Horsea would get exhausted during our travels, I'd carry him like this. I'm stronger than I look."

Meanwhile, at the local arena, the majority of Tokyo's population was seated to watch the match between Akihiro and Dai. Chie was in the audience cheering for her husband when he wrapped his arms around a buff man with tan skin and lifted him up. He then leaned backward and slammed the back of his head into the mat, the crowd cheering wildly.

"WAY TO GO, AKIHIRO!" Chie exclaimed with a big grin, "LET HIM HAVE IT!" the man waving to her and blowing a kiss.

But just as he was ready to deliver the final blow, his eyes widened when a small burst of water struck the back of his head. As if that was not surprising enough, he could not believe how much it hurt. And while he rubbed the spot that had been hit, he noticed the audience in shock.

"What?" he asked, "Who splashed me?" before slowly turning and seeing Horsea standing right there with his arms folded.

"Are you the one they call Akihiro?" the seahorse asked, the people gasping before Akihiro frowned and retorted, "It depends! Who's asking!?"

"The name's Horsea," Horsea remarked, some members of the crowd resisting the urge to laugh while he continued, "I read somewhere that you're apparently Tokyo's top fighter. Well, I'm here to make a statement and I need you to help me with that. Therefor, I suggest you forget about that other guy and make me your opponent instead."

No one could believe what they had just heard. However, Akihiro did not seem to take Horsea seriously enough, thus he folded his arms and sighed, "Oh, I get it. You're just some kid wearing a costume. Look, I'm about to put this guy in his place. Either enter the bleachers and watch or leave."

"If my body was a costume, would I be able to do this?" Horsea retorted before inflating his cheeks and turning himself around. He then unleashed a blast of water and rocketed himself toward Akihiro with his arm out, shouting, "SEA DRAGON HOOK!"

"What!?" Akihiro gasped before taking Horsea's arm to his neck. As such, he coughed up a great deal of blood, his eyes rolling to the back of his head while he fell on his back and passed out.

The crowd stared in horror while the man lay there with his head tilted to the side and his arms spread out. As such, woman seated behind a booth exclaimed, "And with a powerful flying clothesline, this seahorse who calls himself Horsea has just defeated Tokyo's champion! Could this surprisingly powerful being be associated with the demon mouse who has plagued our land since he arrived!?"

Chie trembled while the crowd became restless. Even Dai was too scared to move, therefor he pretended to be unconscious in the hopes that the seahorse would spare him. And while Horsea could tell he was faking it, he simply smiled and said, "Well, look at that. Humans can be smart. You learn something new everyday."

The crowd suddenly went silent when a familiar voice called out, "Dad!"

Horsea blinked and turned toward the entrance to the arena. Sure enough, Pikachu and Aimi had just arrived with the girl riding atop the mouse's back. Just as he said, he was somehow able to support her weight with incredible ease.

Aimi ran toward the ring and climbed into it, Chie gasping, "Aimi! Stay away from that demon seahorse!"

The girl ignored her mother's warning and looked down at her father, sniffing, "Dad, are you okay?" Horsea sighing, "Don't worry, I didn't kill him. I'm not a murderer like you and your kind."

No one knew how to react to this. Should they be relieved that Horsea was willing to spare their lives or should they be frightened? After all, not only was the seahorse powerful, but now Pikachu was there as well. For all they knew, the duo might team up and bring harm to everyone in the area.

However, they were shocked when Pikachu leapt into the ring and snapped, "Horsea, what the hell is this!? I thought we were leaving Tokyo! Why did you come here!?"

"Well, that is true," the seahorse replied with his arms folded, "I was going to leave, and it's good to see you came around and realized that was for the best."

The crowd talked amongst themselves while the announcer stated, "And you heard it yourself, folks. These demonic creatures were originally planning on leaving, thus ridding us of their presence. However, the seahorse seems like he wishes to stay and terrorize us some more. Let us listen and find out why."

Pikachu frowned at the announcer before sighing, "She has a point. What made you change your mind?" Aimi watching the two with concern. She had a feeling that she knew Horsea's reason and she did not like this one bit.

"Well, shortly after I left the shack, I was attacked by four Edo police officers," Horsea explained, "They must have been expecting me, but it was okay. I simply spat water in their faces and they went down just like that."

Everyone listened with fear, Pikachu's eyes wide open while the seahorse continued, "The fact that I was able to defeat four officers just like that, well, I came to a realization at that moment. These humans might not be as threatening as we thought they were. I had to test out my theory, and when I saw a poster mentioning that Tokyo's greatest fighter would compete in this very ring, I knew he would be the ultimate test subject."

Pikachu and Aimi both gasped before Horsea nodded and added, "I took him down in one hit, one single hit. Do you see what this means, Pikachu, old buddy, old pal? It means we don't have to leave Tokyo after all!"

"Wait, we don't?" the mouse enquired, the people in the area equally confused by this statement before Horsea nodded and said, "Yes, all we have to do is use our power to bring these people to their knees! We won't kill them, of course, but only if they cooperate and make us their rulers! I was thinking it would be nice if we were treated as equals, but with these powers of ours, how can I resist?"

Panic spread through the whole area. Chie immediately got up from her seat and raced toward her husband and daughter. At the very least, she wanted to distance herself from Pikachu and Horsea before they could bring any more harm.

All the while, Pikachu stared blankly at Horsea, unsure of how to react to this. He then looked around at all the horrified faces. And when he turned to Aimi and saw just how much this saddened her, a serious look formed as he turned toward the seahorse and snapped, "No! I don't want a part in this!"

Chie was just about to reach the ring when she heard this. She stopped in her tracks and stared in shock, and everyone in the area shared her reaction. Even the announcer was at a loss for words. Did they really hear that correctly?

"Pikachu, I must not have heard that right," Horsea uttered, "What did you just say?" the mouse growling, "Don't you see what you're doing!? You're threatening these people! You've brought harm to a man who did nothing to you just so you could oppress him!"

The seahorse blinked and remarked, "Now, now, oppress is such a strong-" only for Pikachu to retort, "You're no better than they are!"

Horsea stared in shock as Aimi uttered, "I hate to say it, but he's right. What's enslaving us going to accomplish? All you're doing is proving everyone's assumptions about you correct."

The seahorse looked around at all the scared faces then at Aimi. He then turned to face Pikachu and narrowed his eyelids, growling, "Did you forget what humans put us through?"

Pikachu bit his lower lip and uttered, "It's true that humans haven't exactly been kind to us, but that's because they don't understand us. People fear what they don't understand."

Aimi smiled lightly, Chie gasping while he continued, "If we tried a little harder, maybe they could have seen us as people instead of demons. I bet maybe if I looked hard enough, I could have found a doctor nice enough to help my mom in her time of need. After all, I met Aimi, and if someone like her can exist, then maybe good people aren't as hard to find as we first thought."

Horsea stared at the mouse before retorting, "Do you hear yourself!? You are being way too optimistic! I told you once and I'll tell you again! That human friend of yours is just as bad as the others! She's only pretending to be nice to turn you against me!" Aimi gasping, "That's not true!"

"Yeah!" Chie snapped, "My daughter is the sweetest person I know! She would never do something so horrible!"

Horsea's eye twitched when he saw just how serious Pikachu was. As such, he slowly approached the mouse and shoved him to the side, grunting, "Well, if you're not gonna help me, I guess I'll have to give you a push in the right direction."

Pikachu stared in horror when the seahorse took hold of Aimi's neck. Everyone gasped while the girl started to gag, tears forming in Chie's eyes as she gasped, "AIMI!"

"All of you, fall to your knees and call me your emperor!" Horsea snapped, "This girl's life is in your hands! Do you wanna take that risk!?"

But just as it seemed like the citizens were about to cave in, Pikachu clenched his fists and growled, "Forgive me, Horsea, but you've gone too far."

With that, he leapt toward the seahorse and spun horizontally. He then struck his cheek with his tail, dealing considerable pain while everyone watched in shock and amazement.

Horsea's eyes widened with horror as he shifted sideways, releasing his hold on Aimi. The girl took many deep breaths before Pikachu turned to her and said, "Get your dad out of the ring. This might get ugly."

Aimi nodded slowly before Chie entered the ring and breathed a sigh of relief. Both lifted up Akihiro and carried him out of the ring, Dai crawling out of it while Horsea rubbed his cheek. He stared silently at Pikachu for half-a-minute before it all became clear. Pikachu was now his enemy.

"Horsea, we can end this!" Pikachu spat, "It's not too l-" only for the seahorse to retort, "I'm sorry, were you talking to me!? No offence, but Mom taught me not to talk to strangers!"

He then inflated his cheeks before shouting, "SEA DRAGON HOSE!" unleashing a burst of water toward Pikachu. The mouse was not completely prepared for this and thus took the blast to his gut, flying into the ropes. And when the material stretched as far as it could, Horsea ended his assault and allowed the mouse to bounce back toward him.

The crowd watched in horror when Horsea turned around and spat, "SEA DRAGON HOOK!" unleashing more water and flying toward Pikachu, ramming his arm into his neck. And just like when Akihiro took in the move, the mouse coughed up a great deal of blood and fell hard on his back.

"No, Pikachu!" Aimi squeaked while the mouse placed his hands against his neck and rocked back and forth.

"Damn, of course you're still able to move," Horsea grunted, "Unlike these weak humans, you can actually handle it. But even so, if you can't avoid my techniques, it doesn't really matter. You may as well just admit that I'm right."

"No," Pikachu grunted before ignoring the pain and propelling himself up. He then rammed his feet hard into Horsea's chin, causing his head to tilt back before barking, "Even if I still didn't think humans could be trusted, I would never approve of this, and neither would your family!"

Horsea was about to retaliate when his eyes went wide. This gave Pikachu a perfect opportunity to go down on all fours and ram his head into his gut. But just as quickly as he had gained the advantage, he lost it when Horsea regained his senses and wrapped his arms around him.

He flipped Pikachu over so his head faced the mat and grunted, "Well, that's only because they didn't think they could stand up to the humans! Now that we know better, we can change that!"

He then leapt above the ring and wrapped his legs around Pikachu's neck. With that, both descended and the mouse's skull made contact with the material as he gritted his teeth, his eyes wide from the immense pain coursing through him. He never would have imagined that Horsea possessed this much physical strength.

"Look at me!" Horsea exclaimed as he released his hold on Pikachu and allowed him to collapse, "I'm a natural at this! Even I can't believe this is my first real fight!"

Pikachu growled and pushed himself up. He then distanced himself from Horsea and breathed heavily before grunting, "All the more reason to stop you! You're more dangerous than I would have ever imagined!"

With that in mind, the mouse raced toward Horsea only for him to lift up his feet and stand on his tail. He then curled it inward and launched himself into the air. Pikachu stopped dead in his tracks just in time for the seahorse to tilt his head back and shout, "SEA DRAGON METEORITE!"

The crowd gasped in horror when the seahorse released his water into the air thus speeding up his descent. Pikachu was unable to react in time, thus he took a two-legged kick to the back, coughing up more blood and falling on his belly with his arms and legs spread out.

The crowd trembled while the announcer uttered, "While the mouse demon put up a bit of a fight, it would seem he is no match for this monstrous seahorse. It looks like we really have no choice but to make him our new leader."

"Well, it's nice to see you're all at least capable of realizing when things are hopeless," Horsea said boastfully, "It's just such a shame I don't have any friends left, but who needs friends when you have an army of servants at your beck and call!?"

Chie bit her lower lip and whimpered, "This is all our fault. If we had just accepted them, this would have never happened," Aimi frowning and barking, "COME ON, PIKACHU! GET UP!"

Pikachu slowly opened one eye and weakly turned his head toward the girl as she snapped, "I know it's probably difficult, but I believe in you! Horsea's not the only one with incredible powers! You have powers of your own! I'd prefer a more peaceful solution myself, but this is the only option!"

Pikachu nodded and slowly pushed himself back up, Horsea staring at him with irritation and barking, "Just stay down! Look, Pikachu, I don't want to hurt you! I may have been a little hasty when I said I didn't know you. Just admit that I'm right and help me rule over Tokyo, and I'll gladly be your friend again."

"No," Pikachu growled, "You think this is easy for me? I didn't even think to use my electricity against you because I didn't want to hurt you too badly, but you've given me no choice!"

With that in mind, he released electrical sparks from the dots on his cheeks while everyone stared in shock. The mouse when covered himself with it and went down on all fours once more, racing toward the seahorse and barking, "VOLT TACKLE!"

Horsea's eyes widened with shock when he took the mouse's skull to his gut and coughed up blood. And it did not end there as Pikachu wrapped his arms and legs around him and leapt into the air. He then leaned backwards and shouted, "THUNDERBOLT SUPLEX!"

When the back of Horsea's head made contact with the canvas, the crowd watched in stunned silence while Pikachu released his hold and allowed the seahorse to collapse. After a few more seconds, the people cheered wildly, a boy shouting, "YEAH, YOU GO, MOUSE THING!" a girl adding, "That was incredible!"

Pikachu's eyes widened as he looked all around the arena. He could not believe this. All of these people who once feared him were now cheering him on, Aimi and Chie both giving him supportive smiles while the announcer stated his previous actions with enthusiasm.

But just as the mouse was about to respond to all of this, Horsea propelled himself to his feet and spat, "SEA DRAGON ASTEROID!" unleashing his water once more and ramming his back into Pikachu's.

The crowd winced when Pikachu gasped and flew into the ropes. But when he bounced off, he gritted his teeth and growled, "No!" once again covering himself in electricity and spinning around, sending his tail into Horsea's gut. And thanks to the electricity, Horsea felt much more pain than before while the mouse shouted, "LIGHTNING KATANA!"

Aimi breathed a sigh of relief when Horsea flew backward into the turnbuckle. He breathed heavily and trembled all over, uttering, "No. I won't let you take this from me. I had a beautiful thing going on here."

"Really?" Pikachu retorted, "You call your actions up to this point beautiful? You really believe stooping to the level of those who judged us is beautiful?"

Horsea's eye twitched while he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. But just as he was about to consider Pikachu's question, he remembered how one day, his mother went to gather food for him. He waited for hours upon hours but she never returned. As such, he left a cavern they lived in located just outside of the town of Nagasaki's limits.

He searched everywhere before ultimately finding a trail of blood. He did not even stop to see where it led. When he saw a blue and white spiked dorsal fin, he could tell those fluids belonged to his mother. There was no doubt in his mind that humans were responsible.

However, if he had taken the time to follow the trail of blood, he would have noticed that it led to the cave of a pack of wolves. But unfortunately, that fact would forever remain unknown to him.

Back in present time, Horsea grimaced at Pikachu and snapped, "If stooping to their level is what it takes, that's what I'll do, and I won't let you stop me no matter what! You always were naive!"

With that, the seahorse inflated his cheeks and shouted, "SEA DRAGON CANNON!" releasing a large ball of water toward the mouse.

Aimi whimpered as this looked far too big for Pikachu to dodge. However, it seemed he had a plan when he leapt toward it and once again spun around as if he was performing a roundhouse. And once the ball was close enough, he rammed his tail into it with a smirk on his face.

Horsea's eyes widened with terror when the mouse applied more than enough force to fling the water ball flying into him. And once it made contact, it burst open and sent him flying into the ropes while he coughed up more blood. Seeing a golden opportunity, Pikachu leapt backward toward the opposite side and pressed his back up against those ropes, covering himself in electricity one last time.

"I really wish it didn't have to be this way," he grunted before launching himself forward and rolling up into a ball. Horsea had regained focus just in time for the mouse to ram into his gut, pushing him farther back on the ropes while barking, "ELECTRO BALL!"

The crowd watched in amazement while the rubber material started to give way. Soon enough, it split open and all the people could see were the wires. And after another few seconds, the ropes completely snapped open, thus Pikachu and Horsea soared toward the wall below the bleachers, the seahorse's back ramming into it and causing a large crack to form.

Aimi and Chie both gasped when a cloud of smoke surrounded both creatures. The announcer tensed up while Dai stared in wonder. Akihiro had also just regained consciousness as he blinked and asked, "What's going on?"

Once the smoke cleared, Pikachu stood hunched over while breathing heavily and clinging onto his knees. And sure enough, Horsea was out cold with his eyes closed.

After ten seconds, the announcer blinked and stated, "And after easily the most intense match we have ever seen in this arena, our winner is the mouse demon, um, what was your name again?"

"The name's Pikachu," Pikachu replied before the area erupted with loud cheers and applause. And needless to say, the mouse could not believe this.

Akihiro asked, "Chie, can you explain this?" the woman replying, "That demon mouse just saved Tokyo. Aimi was right about him all along."

Aimi smiled sweetly while Akihiro grinned and sighed, "Well, I would like to know how you knew that, but now's not a good time to ask. I'm just happy that seahorse has been dealt with."

However, just as quickly as Pikachu's happiness came, it left him when he looked at Horsea lying there unconscious. He knew he had made the correct decision, and yet this still felt wrong. He could not believe that such a strong friendship could end just like that.

He shed a tear before Aimi approached him and rested her hand on his shoulder. The mouse turned to her with a light smile and nodded before taking a deep breath. However, he was surprised when Akihiro slowly approached him with Chie's help and said, "Thank you, yellow mouse. I would like to apologize for the way all of Tokyo has treated you. I realize now that there was a good reason for you to steal food from us everyday."

With that, he and Chie both fell to their knees and gave Pikachu a bow. And it did not end there as, sure enough, all of the citizens in the arena bowed their heads in respect to their saviour. Even the owners of the fruit and bread stands looked beyond guilty for how they denied him the food he had tried to steal from them the previous day.

"If I knew how good you were, I would have let you have that bread for free," the woman said before the man added, "And you can have as much fruit from my stand as you wish."

Chie nodded and sighed, "We don't expect you to forgive us. We don't deserve it for what we put you through. We just hope that maybe someday, you can-"

"It's fine," Pikachu replied with his arms folded, Aimi smiling sweetly, "To be fair, it's not like I gave you much of a reason to trust me anyway. I was so paranoid that I didn't give any of you guys a chance either. So I guess in a way, I'm not really that much better than any of you either."

Aimi gave the mouse a hug at that exact moment, thus he smiled and patted her on the back. The girl let down light tears and sniffed, "See? I told you not all humans are bad."

Soon enough, handcuffs were put over Horsea's wrists. Thus he was dragged off to prison when the samurai who had attacked Pikachu entered the area. But just as they were about to draw their katanas, the officer who had cuffed Horsea explained the situation to them.

Upon hearing this, the one who had pursued Pikachu on his own slowly approached him and uttered, "So, um, about almost taking your life-" the mouse sighing, "You were only doing your job. I can't fault you for that."

The samurai stared wide-eyed and his jaw dropped. The others could not believe their ears either. To think all this time, the demon mouse was capable of forgiveness.

After everything that had transpired that day, a festival was held in Pikachu's honour. It went for a whole week, and during that time, the mouse managed to make friends with Tokyo's citizens.

Of course, Aimi's parents were more than happy with her spending time with him, so much so that they had offered to let him live with them. After all, the shack he had spent two months in was a terrible place for him to live and the only possession there he really cared about was the red ball he would use to cheer up Horsea.

A year had passed and Pikachu was now a member of the Edo police. With his skills, they considered him more than a valuable asset. Currently, he was on patrol with a samurai uniform on when suddenly, a messenger ran into town and shouted, "Everyone, there's an emergency in Osaka!"

Many citizens in the area stared in shock as Pikachu stepped forward and asked, "What is it, good sir?" the man blinking before shaking his head and explaining, "Apparently, this demon fox has been using fairy magic to bring the people to her knees! They need help, pronto!"

Pikachu's eyes widened when one samurai stepped forward and said, "Well, with Pikachu by our side, this'll be-"

"Actually, I think I should go alone," Pikachu stated, the man staring at him and barking, "What!?"

"Look, Tokyo needs you and the rest of the Edo police," the mouse explained, "However, this creature threatening Osaka is more like me, and you've seen how humans fair against my kind, right?"

"That is true," the samurai replied as he let out a sigh and held out his hand, replying, "Well, best of luck. We'll prepare a celebration when you get back."

Pikachu shook his hand and sighed, "Actually, I'm not sure when I'll return, if ever," the man staring before the mouse added, "It's just that if someone like this is terrorizing people in Osaka, who's to say others aren't doing the same in various other places? I want to keep the people of Japan, no, the world safe, even if I have to do it myself. And who knows? Maybe I can help them see the light."

While the Edo police had trouble accepting this at first, they could see what Pikachu meant. As such, they reluctantly accepted his decision. But of course, the mouse could not leave before telling his new family.

Needless to say, Akihiro and Chie were not happy to hear this, but Aimi was the most torn up of all. Though much like the Edo police, they knew Pikachu was the only one who could combat this threat. As such, they ultimately accepted his decision.

Of course, everyone in Tokyo provided him with equipment and food for his travels. Needless to say, Pikachu could not have been more grateful. And with one final bow, he started his journey, one that would change the world forever.


End file.
